Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday that his country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must not surpass Iran’s red lines.
“We will pursue our course of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of our past obligations and we will surely not surpass the Islamic Republic of Iran’s red lines,” he said.
Qassemi warned that his country would not “surrender to the excessive demands of certain governments,” adding: “The agency, considering its level of independence and (role to have in) safeguarding its international stature, is unlikely to give in to the illogical and unrealistic demands that others may (try to) force on them.”
He went on to say that Iran would not “permit any entry into the zones forbidden under the JCPOA.”
“The agency’s inspections will for sure be conducted within the frame of our internal policies,” the spokesman added.
This came in the context of Iranian reactions to the visit of US Ambassador Nikki Haley last week to Vienna, which Tehran described in a letter to the IAEA Director as “a violation of the nuclear agreement.”
Haley said following the visit that she had pressed the IAEA to seek access to Iranian military bases.
“We are encouraging the IAEA to use all the authorities they have and to pursue every angle possible,” she stated.
For his part, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told reporters on Sunday that his country was trying to call a meeting of the foreign ministers of the 5+1 group – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - to address the US administration’s policy towards the nuclear deal on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Summit in New York, to be held September 12 to 25.
“Our foreign minister is likely to take action over convening a meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran and 5+1,” Salehi said.
Commenting on the US request to search Iranian military sites, Salehi said: “Some are trying to damage the nuclear agreement.”
The Iranian official said he believed the US administration was suffering from “strategic confusion”
“This confusion will harm the Americans before hurting the Iranian side,” he warned.
